Let me begin by saying that if this particular blog reaches more than the few of my friends who actually read this, it may upset some people. Sorry if some people take it that way. I know the current readers I have will understand that this simply is an opinion, my opinion, and not set out to hurt anyone in any way. Now, that being said...
Over the past few weeks the latest "installment" of the breast cancer awareness game has been floating around Facebook. I'm not sure what all the other versions of the game have been. One was about bra color, one about where your purse was located, and I'm sure several more I wasn't even aware of. The latest one had women implying they were pregnant using the month and date they were born. Apparently, this game has offended a number of women.
I had never played the game before. Not because I don't want to support breast cancer research, but because I didn't think any of the concepts behind the games were "out there" enough to actually get people talking. This time, I played. I tried to be a responsible "player" of the game. I emailed all the women on my friends list who I thought would care, informing them in advance that I was not pregnant and passing along the email I know so many of us saw. For the guys (all two of them that asked), I explained it to them too. Although it's fun to keep guys guessing and in the dark about certain things, if the point of the game is to spread awareness, then I was going to spread it to everyone. After all, let's not forget that both women and men are affected by breast cancer (both first and second hand). I'm sure not everyone "played" the game as responsibly as I tried to, but I can't control how others veiw opportunities like this, so I'm not even going to try.
Now that the game has been underway for a while, I've noticed that it's getting a lot of back lash from a couple of groups of people. The first group are breast cancer patients and survivors. No, I don't have breast cancer (or any type of cancer for that matter) so I can't personally understand what they go through dealing with this terrible disease. I have had people close to me contract cancer, and continue their fight to this day. The second group are women who have struggled with infertility issues. No, I haven't had to deal with these issues either (knock wood on both counts that it stays that way) so I don't have the same personal feelings that they do. I have known people who have dealt with all sorts of infertility issues and my hat goes off to them for the spirit they have to endure those types of losses.
So here's where I may begin to step on some toes. Those who are upset with the game are mainly upset because they feel that the people playing are being insensitive to what those groups of people have gone or are going through. I've read some pretty intense blogs that make it sound as if this was a thought out, planned, malicious act to rub in the faces these strong women (and men) all the hardships they have to endure. Now I know I can't speak for everyone who played, but I would be willing to bet it all in Vegas that not one person who played this game did it with the intent to hurt anyone. Why would they? The intent was to raise awareness...and if you really think about it, that's EXACTLY what it did. Like it or not, it's definately gotten people talking.
I'm not trying to undermine the feelings of those who were hurt in whatever way by the playing of this game. I'm just offering up another way to look at things. We live in a country where you have the right to have (and say) any opinion you want. It's outlets like Facebook that make it possible to spread thoughts and ideas faster than before. This isn't always a good thing and I don't always like the things people have to say, but they are entitled to their opinion just as much as I am. If we all went through our day walking on eggshells doing everything possible not to offend or upset someone else, well, we might as well not even leave the house. People today are so easily offended, it's impossible to do or say anything without getting under someone's skin. I mean, prayer was taken out of school because one woman was offened by it and the whole thing snowballed. Think of how wonderfully that whole "movement" has turned out...
Because of the negative response this game has gotten, I've learned things about breast cancer and infertility that I never knew. Things I probably would have never learned had it not been for the controversy this game seemed to cause. Do I think that the actual changing of your status update is going to prompt someone to do a breast exam or schedule a mammogram...well, no. But, I do think that hearing about it on television (where it has been mentioned before) and reading about it on the Internet (and it seems to be all over the place) may cause people to take action for their own health. I know I did my breast exam after some of the things I read. So, take a minute and step back from the hurt feelings to realize that it actually may be doing some good. After all, no evil was intended. In my opinion, that should be enough sometimes. Like the way it is happening or not, breast cancer is getting attention because of this game (more specifically the aftermath of playing the game). It's getting attention that many other causes are not. There's not a "game" for every disease, disorder, condition, etc out there. Be glad that somewhere, some one (I'm guessing a woman) had an idea to cause a stir on Facebook to try and draw some attention for a good cause. And, best of all, it worked.
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